Why
by Awahili
Summary: Alternate ending and continuation. After Elle realizes just where she belongs, she has a trial to win. But she's still a bit confused about a certain teaching assistant.


Okay, so here are some "extended scenes" from the production as well as afterwards. Enjoy. These are just sitting here on ffdotnet, so I thought I'd get them out of my queue. Guess this means _Winter Sapphire_ owes me. :P Oh, and this starts just after Vivienne talks some sense into our girl and before they can go on that big parade.

* * *

Elle looked at her friends happily, grateful to them for helping her find her way back. Checking her watch, she looked up at Vivienne.

"We only have one hour until the trial starts!" she cried. "I need to call Emmett!" she pulled out her cell but Enid shook her head.

"Callahan said he called in sick today. He was supposed to go brief Brooke before the trial, but now we have to." Elle looked between the two women and offered them a small smile.

"I don't want you guys getting in trouble with Callahan, too. Go ahead and go. I'll get Emmett." She was gone before either of them could protest, and Vivienne just looked at her companion before beckoning her to follow.

Ten minutes later Elle dashed up the stairs to Emmett's apartment and raised her hand to knock. The sound resonated down the hall, and Elle smoothed her dress and fixed her hair almost involuntarily. She heard someone shuffling around inside and the door opened to reveal an Emmett she'd never seen. He wore a worn set of sweats and his hair was completely mussed, as if he hadn't even bothered combing it when he got up. His eyes were red and bleary, but when he caught sight of her they brightened immediately.

"Elle!" he stepped toward her, but she moved past him into his apartment. "I thought…" his voice caught in his throat and he swallowed the lump quickly, hoping she didn't notice. "I thought you were going back to California."

"I was," she admitted, "but I had some sense knocked into me…by Vivienne, of all people. And I realized that by leaving, I was accepting defeat and letting Callahan win." Without warning Emmett surged forward and grabbed Elle in a fierce hug.

"Elle, I-" but he was cut off by her cell phone ringing. Seeing it was Vivienne, she smiled apologetically at Emmett and answered.

"Hello? Slow down, Vivienne. Brooke said what? Fired? But I can't…no, Vivienne wait!" She hung up and looked at Emmett helplessly. "Brooke wants me to defend her instead of Callahan. I'm not even through my first year of law school yet!"

"You can do this," he said immediately. "Elle, you're one of the brightest lawyers I've ever known."

"But I'm a law _student,_" she shot back. "I can't defend her."

"Yes you can. I have an idea," Emmett smiled for the first time since yesterday. He bustled around her, his movements sudden and sure. "You go ahead and get to the trial; I'll be right behind you."

"I thought you were sick?" she looked around, searching for signs of his illness. But there were no tissues lying around, no bowls of half-eaten soup on the table. "Emmett?" she looked back at him in question and he stared at the ground sheepishly.

"I couldn't go into work today and not see you there," he admitted, looking back up into her eyes. "Besides, I wasn't too sure I couldn't keep from flattening Callahan for what he did. And I'm not too keen on doing time for assault." Elle opened her mouth to respond when he ushered her toward the door. "Go, go! There's not much time. I promise I'm right behind you. Lock the door on your way out?" and he vanished back into his room to shower and change.

Elle opened the door and went to step out when a piece of paper fluttered off the bookshelf next to the door. She picked it up, immediately recognizing the airline schedules for Logan International Airport. One flight was circled, the only flight from Boston to LA..._her _flight. Quickly she grabbed a pen and wrote one simple word - one simple question - at the top, left it in plain view so he could see, and then she was gone.

When Emmett came out of his room dressed in the suit Elle had bought him, he grabbed the book he'd need, checked the ruling once to make sure, and bookmarked the page. As he grabbed his keys he saw the piece of paper he'd printed off this morning. But at the top of the page, in her delicate scrawl, was the word "why" underlined twice. He shoved the itinerary into his folder and ran out the door, hoping he made it in time.

He tipped the cabbie extra for making him break just about every traffic law known to man as he stepped out of the taxi. He leaped up the steps to the courthouse four at a time, hoping he wasn't too late. As he approached the courtroom he sighed in relief as he heard Callahan's voice clearly through the oak door.

"That's absurd! Elle's just a law student, she can't represent you!" Emmett took a deep breath and opened the doors confidently.

"Actually," he looked right at the judge, "she can represent Brooke, Your Honor." He flipped open his book to the marked page and set it so the judge could get a good look. "Rule three point oh three of the Supreme Judicial Court states that a law student, Miss Elle Woods," he turned and looked at her proudly, "may represent a defendant in criminal proceedings." The prosecutor raised a hand to comment, but Callahan beat him to it.

"_Only_ if she has a licensed attorney to supervise and without me she does not." Emmett just looked at him and smirked.

"Yes, she does," he looked back at the judge, who seemed to be waiting impatiently for them to resolve this. "I'm licensed, Your Honor, I'll gladly supervise." The judge nodded and handed him his book back, but Callahan was furious.

"Like hell you will. You work for me, remember?" Emmett shut the book and took a step toward the other man, standing tall as he glared at his (former) boss.

"No, I work for myself." His voice dropped and his tone darkened. "And I don't have to hit on interns, _professor_." Not trusting himself to hold back much longer, he just took a step around him and moved to the defendant's bench. He could feel Elle's eyes on him, but he steadfastly ignored it. If he looked at her now he wasn't sure he could resist grabbing her and never letting go. He opted for shaking Brooke's hand, but the blonde woman just smiled at him knowingly and thanked him. Vivienne and Enid congratulated him as their law professor walked over and retrieved his briefcase.

"Enjoy prison, Mrs. Wyndham," Callahan said icily. But Brooke just waved at him dismissively.

"Okay, bye!" Emmett laughed, feeling the tension drain out of him, and he finally turned to hand Elle the case file he'd prepared for Callahan the day before. She was standing right behind him with a strange look on her face.

"Thank you, Emmett," she smiled at him softly, but as she took the folder Emmett suddenly remembered which paper was sitting right on top. He kept a hold of it and leaned in close to answer the question she'd written at the top of the page.

"Did you actually think I was going to let you get away?" He let go of the folder and stood straight, offering her an encouraging smile.

She opened the file to call their first witness, but Emmett saw her face change ever so slightly as she saw the itinerary and his words caught up with her. And just as quickly it was gone and she burst into action. Despite a small bout of insecurity, Emmett watched proudly as she dissected Chutney with expert precision. But the moment the witness fell apart and admitted to the murder, Elle's lawyerly façade slipped.

"Oh my God," she whispered. Several people echoed her sentiment, but Emmett wasn't among them. He'd believed in her all along, and when she rushed over to hug him in celebration he lifted her off the floor.

"You did it," he congratulated.

"We did it," she held out her hand and they laughed together as they performed a special secret handshake she'd taught him months ago. She stared into his eyes then, seeing the pride in them, and she couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face. She took a breath to speak, but Emmett just grabbed her hand and smiled back.

"Come on," he tilted his head. "Paulette's throwing you a party." They walked out into the throng of reporters and Elle brushed them off easily, trying not to show how shocked she still was.

But weeks later, after the congratulatory parties dwindled and the media hype had died down, Elle was back to being just another law student at Harvard. Though her professors no longer thought of her as a joke, now she was expected to do better than her peers. So late one March night, she sat in her dorm room next to Emmett, their backs against her bed, pouring over terminology.

"Come on, Elle," Emmett's head was laid back and his eyes were closed, but he was wide awake waiting for the definition to the word he'd just given her. "Paramount title."

"I think I like criminal law better," she pouted. Thinking a moment, she finally just gave it her best guess. "Uh, a title to property that supersedes any other claim?" Emmett opened his eyes and looked at her with a grin.

"Correct."

"Yes!" she pumped her fists in the air and celebrated.

"Bottomry," he challenged, and her hands came down in defeat.

"Okay, now that doesn't even sound like a word," she shot back. He chuckled and shrugged, opening his mouth to contradict her when a knock sounded on her door. She stood up and strode over, opening it in a flourish.

"Warner?" she said, completely surprised to see her ex standing on her doorstep.

"Hey Elle, can I come in?" he looked past Elle to see Emmett getting to his feet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company."

"Emmett's helping me study for Royalton's exam. Come on in." She stood back to let him enter, but he just shifted his weight from side to side.

"I was actually hoping to talk to you alone," he said pointedly.

"I'll just go get some coffee," Emmett said, grabbing his jacket. "I'll be back later," he told Elle and walked past Warner and down the hall. Warner stepped in and shut the door as Elle picked up the books they had been using and set them on her bed.

"What did you need, Warner?" she turned back around and was immediately swept into a kiss. Because it was Warner, she returned it instinctively, but when her brain caught up with what was happening she stepped back away from him and put some distance between them.

"What's wrong, pooh bear?" he cooed, but she just shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where's Vivienne?" She knew Warner wasn't the most decent person, but he was not a cheater. And she'd heard through the grapevine that there was trouble between them, but Elle figured it had more to do with Vivienne seeing Warner's true colors than anything else.

"We're through," he told her. "I told her I'd made a huge mistake breaking up with you and that I was still in love with you. You showed me who we could be, together again. We do belong together. So why don't we just -" he took a step toward her but she held up her hand to halt his progress.

"Warner, what are you talking about? Did you think you could just waltz in here and act like nothing happened between us? Like you didn't throw me away when you had no more use for me?"

"You followed me here," he told her, "obviously you still have feelings for me."

"I did follow you here," she agreed, "But if you'll recall, I almost quit. I almost went home. But I realized that I _like_ studying law. I like being a lawyer. It's a feeling I can't describe. So I may have come here for you, but I stayed for me." Warner shook his head in confusion, and she could see everything in his eyes clearly - he had been expecting Elle to run into his outstretched arms. Taking a small step toward him, she offered him a small smile.

"Six months ago, I would have jumped into your arms," she told him. "But I'm not that girl anymore, Warner. She's gone; you missed your chance with her. And the woman I am now just…I don't love you like I once did."

"Pooh bear, baby, please," Warner begged, and Elle wondered if he'd actually get down on his knees. "I dumped Vivienne for you, I helped you get Callahan's internship, I -"

"Okay, stop right there," her eyes flashed dangerously. "You didn't help me do anything. You were too busy sucking up to Callahan and planning your future to notice anything I did."

"Yeah, but according to you I was your inspiration to do better, and thus the ultimate reason you got the internship." Elle was beginning to wonder who had dumped who as she pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Don't try to twist things to make yourself look better. You may have been one of the driving factors in my perseverance _initially_, but where were you when I needed to study? You weren't helping me learn laws and terms, or helping me write papers. And where were you when I wanted to give up? I didn't hear you banging down my door begging me to stay then." She opened her mouth to continue, but her mind had just processed what she'd said and realized that there had been someone who fit that particular bill. But she needed to deal with the man in front of her before she thought about him.

"I need someone who isn't completely interested in himself all the time. Someone who cares about me, someone who believes in me. So take your pleas and get out." Warner stared at her stern expression once more before his shoulders deflated and he nodded.

"Goodbye, Elle. I'll see you in class." And he was gone. Elle sank down on her bed, barely avoiding the still-open text book. Glancing over, she read the dog-eared page.

_Bottomry: n. a mortgage contract in which a ship and/or its freight is pledged as security for a loan for equipment, repair, or use of a vessel._

Suddenly she couldn't contain her laughter and doubled over, clutching her sides. When Emmett walked back through the door carrying two cups of coffee from the Starbucks, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Are you laughing or crying?" he asked hesitantly. The former he could handle, but if Warner had made her cry (again, he added bitterly) he really didn't know what he'd do. But when she looked at him she wiped her eyes, sobered and stood up. Carefully, she took the cups out of his hands and set them on her desk before enveloping him in a hug. His arms came around her easily and he just held her, not entirely certain why she was hugging him but also not really caring. She pulled away after a few moments and smiled at him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For being you," she answered cryptically. She wasn't sure what this thing was that had been growing between them, but she realized she was more than content to let it continue growing. Emmett, for his part, just smiled goofily and shook his head.

"Well that's something I happen to excel at," he replied. "What did Warner want?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer. Elle opened her mouth to just brush off Warner's presence with a lie about study questions, but she had never lied to Emmett and she wasn't going to start now.

"He wanted me to get back together with him," she said, eyeing her friend for his reaction. He stood completely still, but there was something in his eyes that was there and then wasn't that piqued Elle's curiosity. "I told him no." That was when she caught it - the relief, the easing of his shoulders - and she stepped toward him. "I told him I needed someone who genuinely cares about me, who calls me up just to say hi, who keeps me motivated even when I want to give up, someone who believes in me." She was moving closer to him with every word until they were merely inches apart.

"Elle, I -" but she cut him off by closing the distance between them and kissing him deeply. Her hands gripped the lapels of his jacket as his settled on her waist, and she was pleased to note he was kissing her back. She leaned her body into his a bit more and her hands snaked up around his neck as he reached around to pull her flush against him. Finally, when they both needed air, they parted, but Emmett leaned his forehead against hers and continued to hold her against him.

"And what was that for?" he whispered. Her face lit up with a smile and she shrugged.

"For being you," she returned happily, and hugged him once more before pulling away. She sat down on her bed and grabbed a book, flipping the pages to go over the products liability section for tomorrow's quiz. Emmett shook his head in amusement and joined her, leaning his back against her bright pink wall as she threw her legs over his.

It was a simple gesture, he knew, but the class he'd taken on non-verbal communication was running through his head. Even as he continued to watch her read, he noted she didn't feel uncomfortable as most people would with someone staring at them. In fact, she settled down even more and laid her head back against her headboard and just kept on reading. Bruiser yipped from the floor, indicating rather vehemently that Emmett was occupying his space. But when Emmett (nor Elle) made any move to adjust, Bruiser hopped up on the bed and stubbornly settled down in Emmett's lap. Emmett petted the Chihuahua absently for a moment, happy to watch Elle. But the kiss was playing over and over in his head and he wasn't sure how much longer he could go without talking about it. So before he jumped up and screamed it from the rooftops, he cleared his throat.

"Um, Elle?" he questioned softly. The smile she gave him when she looked up stopped his heart for a moment, and he forgot that he was going to tell her she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, or that he was pretty sure he was head over heels in love with her.

"What?" she returned, but he just grabbed the book from her hands and flipped it back to the page he'd been on before they were interrupted. Leaning forward slightly, he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Bottomry."

* * *

Okay, so there was a nod to the movie in there somewhere. Points to whomever can spot it.


End file.
